Month: December 2015

A little more than a week ago, an article was published by WWD on how the Council of Fashion Designers of America has hired Boston Consulting Group to re-think the calendar and dynamics of the fashion industry, in particular the fashion shows. It’s an excellent read, which we tweeted on Twitter (follow us here) with many insights from industry professionals. What has changed everything is social media, as you can see images and videos of collections up to six months before they hit the stores, and buy cheaper copies from fast fashion brands, while the originals are being produced. By the time these original items hit the stores, most consumers are so tired of looking at them, that they aren’t interested in buying anymore. Winners: fast-fashion brands. Losers: Ready-to-Wear/Pret-a-Porter brands. What will happen, and will it be the end of fashion shows? If we look at history, small in-house presentations were made for an exclusive circle of clients in the days, when Pret-a-Porter (PAP) wasn’t born yet, and only haute couture was around. This was …

Dmitriy Pirozhnikov is a 27-year-old Moscow-based artist. Originally a photographer, Dima (Dmitriy) today also paints abstract paintings and creates prints on organic shirts. Talking to him was a genuine pleasure, and I am incredibly excited to be able to share his story in full with you from his photography career to painter, and now creator of the first #Mygoshirt collection “To be, not to look”. At first, I found out about you as a photographer. Tell me about this part of your life, please. I started taking pictures in 2006-2007. It took me quite a while to realize that I wanted to be a photographer. Did you get into fashion photography right away? No, not at all. When I started out, there was no concept of fashion photography in Russia. It was all glamour. So, I made portraits; I took pictures of my friends and relatives. After some time people started reaching out to me, so I was able to photograph new faces. My attitude towards fashion was quite negative then. I did not like, …

The world is big, yes, but all the time we hear about new fashion brands coming out wishing to establish their own line. What I remember from my own experience and from teaching at fashion school is that most young designers – with a few exceptions who want to pursue a path with the big brands – dream about one day having their own label. Social media have offered formats where expressing your art and what you have inside have been made fun, easy and instant, but the dream about having your own brand is still there. One question remains; are there too many fashion brands today? The world is literally packed with designers and brands, and looking online or strolling in big cities give you an idea about the amount of goods being on offer. In theory, we don’t need more of anything, but a part from the urge to express our style and look presentable (consumers’ need), society as a whole, from economic growth to the end consumer, will need new talent to interpret …